Ellis Peters, Black Is the Colour of My True-love's Heart (Time Warner, 2002; originally published in 1967)

Ellis Peters has a gift for titles. This aptly named book is the story
of a fierce ballad-singer named Liri, who fell in love with a musician -- then saw him cheating on her. It's the tale of a venerable college of
music-lore
in danger from scandal. It's the story of a misunderstood, brilliant
young
musician carrying a volatile secret. It's all of these, and none of
these,
and it's more than that. This is a book of music, of silence, of
words;
it has love, hate, and all their analogues. Myths and fact combine to
wrap
the storyline in a heavy cloak of authenticity. This is a story of
high
passion and cool deliberation; it dances through the morals and
minds
of another age and gives the reader a wide window into the world of
folk
music and ballad-singers.

This isn't an easy read. The first two chapters especially are thick
with
detail and abrupt, jarring point of view shifts, as if the author is
trying
to show everything there is to know about the scenery, characters,
background,
and plot. The
following
chapters smooth out somewhat; although there is still the feeling of
jumping
from one person to another, the characters are established so strongly
that
the mechanism fades into the background. The book is supposed to be an "Inspector Felse Mystery,"
but
the focus is primarily on the other characters in the book.

The real strength of this book is the characters. Liri Palmer is as
unforgettable
as a blazing fire. Her intense, stubborn personality helps to push a
precarious
situation over the edge into violence. Equally responsible, of course,
is her ex-boyfriend Lucien, nicknamed Lucifer by his contemporaries for
his dark and brooding temper. And the third side of the triangle that
throws
a pleasant weekend of music and lore off balance is young Felicity,
whose
teenage fantasies of catching Lucien's eye rebound in a vicious
retaliation
when she's rebuffed.

The ending is as inevitable as the violence, once all the facts are
laid
out. All the loose ends are neatly -- and decisively -- tied up, leaving
the story as a complete and satisfying package when you put the book
down.
For anyone who likes intense, character-driven mysteries, this is a
great
read.

There are several other books in the "Inspector Felse Mysteries"
series, all with titles as interesting as this one: A Nice Derangement of
Epitaphs, The Knocker on Death's Door and Death and the Joyful Widow, to
name
only three. Ellis Peters also wrote the popular "Chronicles of Brother
Cadfael" series, which has been combined into six thick omnibus
volumes (see the GMR review of the series here), and wrote "The Heaven Tree Trilogy" under her real name: Edith
Pargeter. Some of her "Brother Cadfael" stories have been adapted for television
in the United States.

Ellis Peters died in October of 1995 at the age of 82, leaving behind a
rich legacy of words for generations to enjoy.

LyricsDepot.com gives you one version of the original lyrics to Liri's
show-stopper song in Chapter Two. (Search for "Black Is The Color Of My True Love's
Hair".) If you're a serious Ellis Peters fan, you can join an online mailing list dedicated to her. For a photo of the author and an article detailing her honors and
achievements, click here.